Solving an Electrical Problem

When you are planning to decorate your home for the holidays or another special occasion with a dazzling display of lights like Clark Griswold in the classic movie, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, you may not quite know what you are getting yourself into. After all, if you are going to go full Clark Griswold, the last thing you want is to blow all of your fuses (or like in the film, the fuses for the neighborhood and beyond) and ruin your phenomenal light and decorations display. In order to avoid major mistakes and pitfalls, get to know some of the steps that you can take to ensure your light display comes on and stays on when you ask for a drum roll before your big reveal.

Do Not Use Standard, Cheap Outlet Converters

If you go to any hardware store or box store, you may be able to find cheap little outlet converters that can turn outlets designed to fit two-prong plugs into those that can fit three-prong plugs. While these seem like a wonderful idea in theory, the problem with this quick fix is that the converter is not grounded.

Grounding is an electrical term that refers to a safety feature that connects your electrical circuits and systems to the earth (i.e. the ground). This prevents stray electrical charges from causing power surges, unexpected sparks, and electrical fires in your home.

By not choosing a grounded option for your outlets, you may inadvertently cause your outlets to malfunction. The lights that you plug into the converter may try to draw more power than the outlet can safely handle without grounding causing a power surge that can destroy your outlet along with anything plugged into it. Avoid this by having a professional residential electrician install a grounded outlet in place of your original one.

Install New Outlets Rather Than Adding Numerous Splitters and Extension Cords to One

Many people will do everything in their power to extend their outlets to accommodate their decor and lighting needs. They will use extension cords, power strips, and outlet splitters to be able to plug numerous devices into a single outlet.

However, what this does is overloads the outlet and can cause numerous problems with the electricity in your home. This can blow fuses that you will need to replace or deal with by throwing the breakers in your fuse box. It can also cause the power to not function as well elsewhere in your home, causing lights to dim, televisions to not work properly, and the like.

If you really want to ensure that you decorations and lights look bright and beautiful and that they stay on when you plug them in, you will want to install new outlets if you find yourself needing numerous extension cords and splitters. Contact an electrician and work with them to determine how many outlets you can install and where they would best suit your decorative needs.

With these tips in mind, you can ensure that your light display is the brightest around and looks gorgeous for the occasion.